Buffing mechanism for car-platforms.



O. T. WESTLAKE & G. P. FREDE.

BUFFING MECHANISM FOR CAB PLATFORMS.

APPLICATION FILED NOVQI, 1911.

Patented Jan. 21, 1913.

m-r/vsssas UNTT Side @FFTQE CHARLES T. WES'ILAKE AND CHARLES F. FREDE, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNORS TO DOUBLE BODY BOLS'IER COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS. MISSOURI, A CORPORATION-OF NEW JERSEY.

BUFFING MECHANISM FOR CAR-TLATEOIRMS'.

Application filed November 4, 1911.

To all whom 2'25 may concern:

Be it known that we, CHARLES T. WEsT- LAKE and CHARLES F. Fianna-citizens of the United States, residing at St..Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Buffing Mechanismfor Car-Platforms, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertain-s to make and use the same, ref.- erence being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which I 1 Figure'l is .a top plan iew of a cast metal platform with portions of the buffer beam and end sill and showing the butting mechanism 1n p0s1t10n thereon. Fig. 2 1s a longitudinal section taken approximately on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is an enlarged section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a transverse section taken approximately on the line 44 of Fig. 1. v

This invention relates generally to improvements in railway car platform construction and more particularly to the buffing mechanism applied to cast metal platforms, such as are now ingeneral use in passenger car construction, and the principal objects of the invention are :To constructa skeleton platform and buffer beam so-thata form ofbuffing mechanism of accepted M. C. B. type and now in use on a number of passenger cars may be readily applied to said and buffer beam and, fur-- ther, to-provide a construction wherein the operating parts of the bufling mechanism can readily be placed in or removed from position without detaching the vestibule of bufier from its stems, thereby permitting the bufling mechanism to be easily and quickly repairedwhen any of the operating parts have become broken or unfit for service.

With the above objects in View, our invention consists in certain novel features of construction and arrangements of parts hereinafter .more fully described and claimed.

Referring in detail to the accompanying drawings, 1 designates the end sill of a car under-frame of the type now in general use Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 219153.13;

Serial No. 658,594.

on passenger cars and formed integral there with and projecting forwardly froni the central portion of said end sill, is a pair of verticallyndisposed webs 2. A corresponding pair of webs 3 is formed integral with the end sill 1 to the sides of the webs 2 and the upper portions of the pairs of fwebs "2'. and 3 are united by integral horizontally disposed plates 4. The webs 2 and 3, together with the plates 4, form a platform frame and formed integral with or fixed to the forward end of this platform frame, is a buffer beam 5 of the usual box-shape, and located on top of the central portion of this buffer'beam and projecting forwardly therefrom; is athreshold plate The numeral 7 designates 'a buiiing member of the usual type proi ided on, its top witha plate 8, which is adaptedto slide;be neath the threshold plate6. Thebufie r T is carried by the forwarden'ds of a pair of side buffer stems 9 and the central "portion of said buffer bears against "a" centerbuifer stem 10, and said center stem together with the side stems, are arranged to slide freely through correspondingopenings I11 formed in the front and rear was of the buffer beam 5. I v The forward portions of all'oftlle buffer stems are preferably square or non ciifcular in cross-section and the rearportionsof said stems which occupy positions .within the platform are preferably round i n-(seem tion. v Formed integral with the webs il. and l-l and with the plates 4 connecting the same, are transversely disposed plates 19,1in which are formed openings 13, the same being in alinement with the side'bulier stem openings through the buffer bea1n, 5, [and loosely mounted in these openings 13,1 ar'efslee es 14; which serve as bearings-for th .1

tions of the side buffer stems. The. .calriends of the buffer stems projectthroiigl i these sleeves l'c and receive nuts 15.. lfositione d on the roundedporti ons of tliesi de buii'er stems and bearing against-theshoulder tween said rounded portions and/the" viua or non-circular forward portions. are"disks or follower plates l6, and 1nounted on the and projects Formed integral with the rear portions of the webs2 is a transversely disposed wall 21, in the center of which is formed an opening 22 which is in alinement with the opening 20 and with the openings for the center bearing stem in the buffer beam 5.

The rear rounded portion of the center buffer stem extends through the opening 20 through the bearing Formed in the plate 21 and positioned on the rounded rear portion of this center buffer stem, is a comparatively small compression spring 23, the rear. end of which bears against the wall 21 and the forward end of which bears against. a disk or follower plate 24, which latter bears against the shoulder between the square or non-circular portion of the center buifer stem and the rounded rear portion thereon.

The numeral 25 designatesa comparatively strong compression spring which encircles the forward portion of the comparatively light spring 23 and the rear end of said spring 25 bears against the transversely disposed plate 19.

.Under' normal conditions, the springs 17 and 23 maintain the buffer 7 at its outer limit of movement and when said buffer is moved inward toward the beam 3 during the coupling of- 2 cars, said springs will be compressed to a certain-degree or until the follower plate 2t engages against the forward I end of the heavy spring 25 and said spring 25 will now be thrown into action and together with the springs l7 and 23, will yieldingly resist the further inward movement of the buffer and butting gear, until said parts have been moved to such a degree as to permit the coupling of the cars. During these movements, the butter stems move freely through their various bearings and all of the springs mounted on said buffer stems readily combine tofyieldingly resist the inward movement of the buffer in the desired manner.

The construction herein described is comparatively light in weight provides astrong and rigid support for the butting gear and the entire bufling mechanism can be easily and quickly placed in operative position upon the platform and buffer beam or removed therefrom without detaching the vestibule or the buffer beam from its stems,

and therefore, said coi1structionis especially desirable when it is necessary to make repairs or to renew any parts which have become worn or broken in service.

It will be readily understood that minor changes in the size, form and construction of the various parts of our improved mechanism can be made and substituted for those herein shown and described without departing from the spirit of our invention, the scope of which is setforth in the appended claims.

1. In a buffing mechanism of the class described, the combination with a car underframe end sill of a cast. metal platform integral with said end sill, a buffer beam iptcgral with the platform, a buffer in front of the buffer beam, buffer stems. extending from the buffer through the buffer beam into the platform, comparatively light buffer springs located on the buffer stems within the platform a. comparatively heavy compressed spring encircling a portion of the spring mounted on the center buffer stem and a transversely disposed slotted plate integral with the platform between the end sill andbutfer beam, which slotted plate forms a bearing for the rear end of the heavy compression spring. c v

2. In a butting mechanism of a class described, an end sill, a cast metal platform integral therewith, which platform comprises a series of vertically disposed webs and top plates integral with. said webs, a buffer beam inte ral with the platform through which bu er beam is formed a series of buffer stem openings, bearings formed on the underside of the platform for the rear portions of the buffer stems a slot-ted plate integral with the underside of the platform, w-hichslotted plate forms a bearing for one of the buffer stem springs and longitudinally extending strengthening flanges integral with and extending rearwardly from the slotted plate.

3. In a bufiing mechanism of the class described, the combination with an end sill and buffer beam, of a one-piece skeleton platform arranged between the end sill' and buffer beam, which platform comprises a series of longitudinally extending,-vertically disposed webs, and a horizontally disposed perforated top :plate connecting each outel vertically disposed web with the adjacent inner vertically disposed web, a slotted plate between the central-pair of vertically disposed webs, transversely disposed plates between the central pair of vertical webs and the side vertical webs, and bearings formed in said last mentioned transversely disposed webs, of side buffer stems operating through the buffer beam and engaging in the bearings formed in the transversely disposed webs, springs on said buffer stems, a center 1 buffer stem operating through the buffer beam and through the slot-fed plate, and a pair of springs on said center bufler stem, one of which Springs passes flniough the Slotted plate and the other one of which springs bearsngainst ssaid slotted plate.

In testnnony whereof We hereunto affix our signatures in the presence ff-two Wiinosws, rhls 28th day October, 1911.

il-ZLES T. WESTZLAKE. JHARMEE E F. FREDE.

' Witnesses: I

B. E. KUI-XL, HAL C. BBLLVILLE; 

